


Where The Heart Is

by BisexualGhoul



Category: What We Do in the Shadows (TV)
Genre: Gen, Light Angst, personally I see it as romantic but I made it vague on purpose, this could totally be read as platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24669175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BisexualGhoul/pseuds/BisexualGhoul
Summary: Nandor and Guillermo have a conversation on a bus.Literally just me getting out my Feelings about the season finale.
Relationships: Guillermo/Nandor the Relentless (What We Do in the Shadows TV)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 163





	Where The Heart Is

_Don’t care what the fuck your name is! We had to pick up our own laundry!_

Guillermo wants to scream. He’s exhausted, covered in vampire blood, and apparently, he had risked his life for a bunch of ungrateful idiots who didn’t care enough about him to know his name. He rolls his eyes up to the ceiling and mutters through gritted teeth,

_“Hijo de la chingada.”_

“No, you’re not getting out of this by speaking in tongues,” Nandor states petulantly. 

“You know what?” Guillermo asks, half hysterical, “I came here to make sure you guys didn’t die,” he waves his arms vaguely in their direction, “and look at that. You’re alive. My job here is done.” And with that, Guillermo turns stiffly and makes his way toward the exit, the camera crew scrambling after him to see what he does next. As far as they were concerned, he was much more interesting than the four vampires behind them.

“Wait!” Nandor calls after him, and in spite of himself, Guillermo stops and turns to hear him out. “I-” Nandor starts before Laszlo interrupts with “The least you could do is untie us. The rope is silver, we can’t touch it you imbecile.” Guillermo gives him a sharp look, and wonders, not for the first time, what it would feel like to just stake them all and be done with it. But almost as soon as the thought enters his head, he shoos it away with a sense of guilt. As much as they don’t appreciate him, and as much as they treat him like shit, he still cares about them. Even annoying Colin Robinson.

And at the very least, _Nandor_ cares about _him_. Guillermo knew this of course, but before, he thought it was more of a “you’re useful to me so I’ll treat you slightly better so you’ll continue being useful” type of caring. Now he’s not so sure. The way the vampire had spoken about him, as if he was a friend who had abandoned him rather than a servant who quit, makes Guillermo think that maybe what he felt for his master--former master, he reminds himself--wasn’t so one-sided after all.

With this in mind, Guillermo sighs and asks if one of the interns can stay and untie the vampires, while he himself continues out the door. As it shuts behind him, he can hear Nadja say something along the lines of “I can’t _believe_ the stupid idiot camera peoples chose Gizmo over us.” Guillermo sighs again and makes his way down the street to the bus stop. Someone from the camera crew offers him a ride, but he declines. Something about the way he’s feeling makes him want to press his forehead against the cool glass of the bus window, close his eyes, and pretend that whatever was going on with his life right now isn’t really happening. He tiredly requests that the film crew goes home while he heads back to the vampire residence to pick up the mini-fridge for his mom. They oblige, loading into their vans and heading out while Guillermo waits for the bus.

The bus comes a short while later, and Guillermo taps his pass against the scanner. If the bus driver notices the blood covering Guillermo’s clothes and face, they don’t say anything about it. As he sits down in the back of the empty bus and hunkers down for the ride, Guillermo hears the bus driver scream. He looks up to see a bat flying into the bus and slumps down in his seat with an unhappy grumble, covering his face with his hands. There’s a familiar puff of smoke, and then,

“Guillermo? I can see you there,” Nandor says with a frown. “Now is not the time for the hiding-peeking game.”

“It’s called hide and seek,” Guillermo says pointedly, not moving his hands. He can’t look Nandor in the eye right now. Not while he’s trying to figure out what to do with himself and the genuine emotions he feels for the vampire. Nandor sits next to Guillermo with a grimace, not liking how close they are. He decides that he will do his best to be as aloof as possible in order to make this go smoothly. Obviously his mushy feelings and lenient behavior had pushed Guillermo away before, so in order to make him more comfortable he is brisk and professional.

“It was very rude of you to leave us to do all of your work by ourselves. You will come home and clean up the mess immediately,” Nandor says, his face betraying none of the desire he felt for his companion to return to him.

Guillermo’s demeanor changes in an instant. Any soft feelings he’d felt for his master were washed away at the callous demand. He sits up straight and turns to Nandor, looking him directly in the eye. He narrows his eyes and says with as much conviction as his tired body can muster, “Fuck off.” Guillermo stands and shoves past Nandor, making his way to the middle of the bus, where he takes a seat and stares out the window. The bus driver, who up until this point was staring at the two through the mirror with rapt interest and no small amount of fear, takes this as their cue to start up the bus and continue on their route. 

_This fucking guy_. Nandor hisses and stands up. He will put that little shit in his place. He strides over to where Guillermo is sitting, fully intent on giving him an earful when Guillermo stands abruptly, pulling a wooden stake out of nowhere, and pressing it against Nandor’s chest.

“Don’t fucking test me right now,” he grinds out. Nandor flings himself back in surprise, landing with an _oof_ in the seat across the aisle from Guillermo, the blood from his last kill going cold in his body.

In his anger, Nandor had forgotten what had happened in the past hour. Guillermo had slaughtered an auditorium full of some of the most well-known vampires in the world, barely breaking a sweat as he did so. As much as Nandor hates to admit it, he and Guillermo are on equal ground. No longer can he look at the man and see a weak little human who he can boss around and threaten. Guillermo isn’t a child; he is _formidable_ , and could probably kill Nandor as easily as he thought he could kill his familiar. Something like respect--and possibly also fear--wells up in Nandor, but he forces it back down. He won’t be intimidated by a human...even if he is a vampire hunter. The very words make Nandor want to turn into a bat and fly out of one of the open windows, but he doesn’t. Deep down, Nandor knows Guillermo doesn’t mean it; if he truly wanted to kill any of them, he’d had multiple opportunities to do it. But he hadn’t. It’s that knowledge that helps Nandor turn once more to his familiar to attempt to reason with him.

When he does, he finds that Guillermo is crying. Nandor grimaces, not knowing what to do in this situation. Once Guillermo notices that Nandor is staring at him with a vaguely panicked look, he tears off his glasses and roughly scrubs his hands over his eyes.

“Guillermo…” Nandor starts uncertainly, “you may...speak. To me. If you would like.”

Guillermo scoffs and goes back to looking out the window. “Why would I do that? So you can pretend to listen to me?” 

Nandor knows this is one of his failings as a master (and as a...friend) so he does his best to make an effort. 

“I promise to listen this time.”

Guillermo smiles meanly at Nandor, who shifts uncomfortably. 

“Fine. You want me to talk? I’ll talk. I’ve been your familiar for 11 years, and I’ve been a damn good one. But you’re never going to make me a vampire! And frankly, I’m not getting any younger! I spent my best years here in the hope that I’d be able to start really living my life once I was undead, but the reality is that I was wasting my time. Do you want to know why I left? Because I realized that the life I have right now is the only one I’ll ever get, so I need to start living it. And I can’t do that while I’m being your familiar.” 

By the end of his rant, Guillermo is breathing heavily and trying not to burst into tears. He hadn’t _wanted_ to leave the vampire residence, but he needed to consider what the future would look like for him. He doesn’t want to waste his youth living only to serve on the off chance that Nandor will eventually turn him when he is nearing his deathbed. He should be dating someone by now, possibly even considering marriage! And kids! If he isn’t going to have his dream of becoming a vampire then he should at least strive for a fulfilling life surrounded by people who love and respect him.

Nandor stares at Guillermo, brows furrowed in thought. He sometimes forgets how short the human lifespan is. Sure, Guillermo is young and capable now, but how long would it be before he is like Benjy, old and weak and slow, unable to even keep up with Nandor. By the time Nandor was Guillermo’s age, he had a huge family, with multiple wives and children, not to mention all of his loyal subjects and confidants. But Guillermo has nothing. No one. He doesn’t even know if Guillermo has a family. Until an hour ago, Nandor didn’t even know Guillermo’s _last name_. He hates that the more he thinks about it, the more it makes sense that Guillermo wants to leave him--them. Wants to leave _them_. 

But Nandor is selfish. Nandor is _relentless_. And as much as it pains him to admit it, he cares for Guillermo, and his presence brings him contentment and happiness. 

So he’s going to convince Guillermo to come home no matter what it takes.


End file.
